Queensland proposes transmission line to serve renewable projects

The Queensland government (Australia) has unveiled plans to build a new 500 km transmission line in the north of the state to unlock barriers to more than 2 GW of wind, solar and hydro projects.

This AUD150-million (US$113 million) aims to develop a transmission infrastructure in northern Queensland to support renewable energy projects. This is part of the AUD-386-million (US$284 million) Powering North Queensland plan.

The trasmission line project will benefit the implementation of the 1,200MW Kennedy wind and solar park along with other wind and solar farms, and some hydro projects. Australian Windlab Ltd will be in charge of the project which once completed will be connected to the proposed line.

The Kennedy wind farm in located near the town of Hugehnden, along with several other smaller solar projects, and would represent an investment of more than US$1,5 billion.

These renewable projects are planned to replace a proposed coal-fired power station in the region.

The transmission line will likely follow a loop that gathers in the Kennedy project and others such as the Kidston solar/pumped hydro project, the Forsayth wind farm, and the proposed Burdekin hydro project.